My quest to turn a first house into a cozy home.

Chandelier

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I have been a lazy bum recently. I apologize. Jered is off for the summer and I have found myself wrapped up in the glory that is getting to spend time together. So sue me. 🙂

Lots of stuff getting done, but not a lot of sharing, which needs to change.

Therefore, today I bring you one of the easiest room “makeovers” you could do; the entryway! Reimagining an entryway/foyer can bring a whole new feel to your home, and its the first thing people see when they walk in. Don’t you want that first impression to be welcoming? It would appear that the answer, for the former owners of our home, was a resounding “NO.”

If you read ANY of my other posts you probably saw me complaining about the sad excuse for a light fixture that existed in our foyer. This “chandelier” was only the first issue. The stair rail was in bad shape, there is terrible linoleum tile, it just wasn’t perty.

Wasn’t.

But now, its better! The linoleum is still hangin’ on, but I’d say we have made some great improvement in a short few months and for little effort and $$.

The first and most exciting thing in my eyes is that new light. We found this chandelier, (but in the five-light version that now appears to be discontinued), at Home Depot for like $150. We picked out a nice simple ceiling medallion, and let our friendly AndyOnCall guy install it for us for a small fee. Seriously we were NOT gonna do this ourselves, the height of the foyer made it too intimidating. I didn’t even think they made ladders this big.

(Also, they are so nice and always do a great job! I highly recommend them!)

I am so excited with the switch, I cannot imagine keeping that old weird fixture as the first impression of our home. It just wasn’t happy. This 16$ ceiling medallion (also from Home Depot) will look great with our one-day-to-come crown moulding! But thats another day.

Another project that I took on was staining the hand rail going up the stairs. The existing finish was in bad shape, dull, cracking, and that ugly orange honey oak color everyone loves so much.

After some research online, I decided on a gel stain. I took a chance, against everyone’s recommendation, and went with Minwax Gel Stain in Hickory. I just didn’t want to wait to get the General Finishes option shipped to me, though I hear it’s fantastic.

I could not be happier with how it turned out. After a light sanding, and wiping with a wet cloth, I simply put on some rubber gloves and a lint-free sock over my hand and wiped it on. I used a small foam brush to get the tight corners. Like some, I didn’t like the shade of the coat when wiped off, so I decided to put on a VERY thick single coat without wiping the stain off. I will warn that it took like three weeks to dry to the point that it wasn’t tacky. I did pick a very humid week to tackle this though, I am sure this didn’t help. Here are some before & afters for you! Whole project cost like $15! Plus I have enough left over that I can stain all of our three bathroom vanities! (I think.)

We found a silly little indoor-outdoor rug on sale for $26 on Wayfair that echoes the design of the ceiling medallion and had some great color in it! It has held up very well so far. Little stool is from target. I also sprayed the door knob ORB until we can get a new paneled door for that closet. I’d say the feeling of our foyer is just a little more welcoming now. 🙂

Sorry that first pic is grainy, it was a photo from the listing when we bought the house. We also found a fun LARGE woven basket for that empty, bare, 80s plant shelf above the closet door.

Target had it priced at maybe $40, about HALF what I was finding elsewhere online for similar baskets. I love the texture it brings!

So thats what I’ve been up to. Happy hump day y’all! Thanks for reading!